My name is Brandy Cupcakes, and, I like to make things. And buy things made by other people too.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The Homeplace Feels Like Home

So, in keeping with this weeks theme of everything being out of order, I'm going to finally post about the little road trip Jody and I took to Harcourt, Iowa last weekend, to attend the first big market at The Homeplace.

The Homeplace is owned by Angie, and houses her studio and occasional marketplaces as well as other events(a visiting yoga instructor gives lessons, for example). Angie makes all sorts of neat, upcycled goods. Especially popular are her owls. I came home with FOUR of them!

I bought three, one to represent each member of our family, and then Jody, that sneak, surprised me with another! I told her that if I ended up pregnant(because she sent me home with an extra owl), it would most definitely be her fault. Because you know, that's exactly how pregnancy works and all...

The market was super fun. There were all sorts of neat vendors and everybody was just so laid back and friendly. We were already making new friends as we set up our booths.

Here's Jody's-

And here's mine.

Booth setup is always difficult for me, as it is one area where I am just NOT creative. At all. Not one bit. But, I thought this one wasn't too bad. Better than slapping everything on a table in a naive fashion and making people sift through it all. No, I have never done that at any of the previous craft shows I have attended...(fingers crossed behind back).

Of course the best part about any market(besides making new friends) is always the shopping. It doesn't matter how much money I make at a market, I don't make ANY money at all because I always go shopping at my fellow vendors' booths. Supporting handmade/small business is a serious passion of mine.

In addition to my adorable owls, I also came home with this fun upcycled, crocheted tote by 3D Smudgie Co.

Made of plarn and crocheted by Daisy(who is still a teenager, by the way) THAT DAY, as we sat at our booths vending no less, this bag is fun, responsibly made and just the most handy little tote around. I was super impressed by Daisy, who has been running her business WHILE pursuing her education at such a young age. She really has it together, and her products really rock. Talk about inspiration for the days when I feel like I can't do it anymore. Daisy, you are my hero!

I also picked up some truly unique hand turned pens, made by Angie's daddy, for The Husband's upcoming birthday.

Can you guess what these are made of?

Here are your answers.

Cactus! Crotch Maple! And GRAPE NUTS!!!

I admit, I bought the crotch maple for the name alone, but it is actually a beautiful and gorgeous piece of wood.

Ahem. Moving on.

Grape Nuts! Cereal! In a pen! This one was all about the novelty value. I mean, I've seen plenty of sprinkles, glitter and candy in resin, but never Grape Nuts. That's just too cool.

And the cactus one, aside from being beautiful, was chosen as a reminder of our early dating days. The Husband was a sculpture major and had this huge piece of dried out cactus in his room that he used for all sorts of creative purposes, like rubbings on fabric and printmaking. That cactus is gone, but every time I see this pen, I'll be reminded of that tiny one room apartment where the seeds of love were planted and began to grow and bloom.

Barf. Let's move on.

So, The Homeplace. If you are lucky enough to get a chance to go and check it out, DO IT. You won't regret it. Angie is sweet as pie and her studio, work and markets really reflect that. I can't recommend her events enough. Having grown up in the Webster County area, I think it's fabulous that she's attempting to breathe some new life into the area by creating new community events and showing support for the handmade and small business movements.

But heck, even if you don't care about any of the ideologies or social and economical movements that I find so important, just go for the shopping.